Entering the week, the Colorado State men’s basketball team has 23 victories and appears to be in good shape to receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

In good shape. But certainly not a lock.

That’s why CSU coach Larry Eustachy hasn’t been shy about reminding his team about the importance of each remaining game.

“We use the word ‘urgency’ a lot,” Eustachy said. “I just make our guys aware that ‘This is a game we have to win.’ We’re real factual and direct with them.

“That’s what the goal is, to get into the NCAA Tournament. We know that we have work to do.”

Before their game Saturday against Air Force in Fort Collins, which they won 66-53, the Rams were penciled into the NCAA Tournament by two of the most respected “bracketolgists,” Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com and Jerry Palm of CBSsports.com.

As of Friday, Palm projected CSU to be a No. 9 seed. Lunardi had the Rams seeded 10th.

The 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced March 15. Invitations will go to 32 automatic qualifiers (primarily winners of conference tournaments) and to 36 at-large selections.

“People project us for different things, and it’s human nature for us to look at that,” CSU senior guard Daniel Bejarano said. “We’re really confident as a team. But we know we have to focus on the next game.

“We know teams that we play are going to play their best basketball to try to beat us,” he added. “They have nothing to lose. We know it’s going to be hard. We know what’s at stake.”

Eustachy said pressure is something to deal with and not to be ignored. That’s why the CSU coaching staff is not shy about referring to the NCAA Tournament.

“If guys can’t handle the pressure, then they don’t deserve to be in the tournament,” Eustachy said.

With Selection Sunday just 20 days away, here’s a look at how things stand.

Did Big Ten peak in December?

The Big Ten won its challenge series against the ACC in early December. Since then, it has been a challenge for the Big Ten to distinguish itself. The conference may get a half dozen or more NCAA Tournament bids, but Wisconsin probably will be the only one with a good seed.

Could this be Gonzaga’s year?

As talented and consistent as Gonzaga has been for almost two decades, one thing is missing. The Bulldogs — or Zags, if you prefer — have never reached the Final Four.

This may be Gonzaga’s best opportunity, with a potent lineup that can win games from the perimeter (guards Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell Jr.), from the inside (7-foot-1 Przemek Karnowski, 6-10 Domantas Sabonis) and everywhere between (6-10 Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer).

The fortunate .500

According to a study dating to 1985 by Jim Sukup in the Basketball Times, 69.2 percent of ACC teams that finished the regular season with exactly a .500 record in the conference standings were rewarded with an NCAA Tournament invitation.

For the Big Ten, 55.9 percent of .500 teams received NCAA Tournament bids during the past three decades, followed by the Big 12 (36.4 percent), SEC (32.4) and Pac-12 (12.0). The former Big East got 35 percent of its .500 teams into the bracket.

How’s the West looking?

The western section of the country isn’t deep in college basketball talent, but there’s strength at the top.

Gonzaga is thought to be battling Wisconsin for a No. 1 seed. Arizona could be a No. 2 seed, Utah a No. 3 seed and San Diego State a No. 5 seed, perhaps.

Unless something crazy happens in the conference tournaments, the Pac-12 may get no more than three or four NCAA Tournament bids, with Oregon perhaps becoming the favorite to join Arizona and Utah. The Mountain West is probably looking at two or three invitations.

Which is the best league?

It depends on how one judges that. The Big 12 may be the most competitive basketball conference this season from top to bottom. But other than possibly Kansas, there may not be a potential Final Four contender in the lot.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, with Duke and Virginia, may get half the No. 1 seeds. But the ACC is not as deep as in the past.

The Big 12 is eager to make amends for the past two seasons, with its teams going a combined 9-12 in the NCAA Tournament. Six Big 12 teams failed to advance past their first game during that past two tournaments.

Early picks for top seeds

No. 1 seeds: Kentucky, Duke, Virginia, Wisconsin

No. 2 seeds: Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona, Villanova

Disappearing act for big names

When the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced, Florida, Connecticut, Memphis, Michigan, Kansas State, Marquette, Creighton, New Mexico, UNLV and Vanderbilt will probably be among the missing.

Syracuse currently would have been a bubble team. But the Orange is definitely out of the mix, having self-imposed a one-year postseason ban during a pending NCAA investigation regarding infractions.

First to 50 points wins?

That may be a bit of an exaggeration. But the 2015 Final Four, as a group, could be the slowest paced in memory if Virginia, Wisconsin and Kentucky make it to Indianapolis.

According to kenpom.com, Virginia is the nation’s fourth-slowest team in pace of play. Wisconsin ranks ninth-slowest. Kentucky is in the bottom 70 in pace of play at No. 66.

Final Four could have star power

It’s not always the case, but depending on the tournament bracket and how things shake out, this year’s Final Four may feature a majority of the All-America team.

That would include Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky, right, Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin, Jahlil Okafor of Duke and possibly Montrezl Harrell of Louisville if the Cardinals start playing better.

Cauley-Stein (7-foot), Okafor (6-11) and Kaminsky (6-11) would make this one of the tallest All-America teams in history.

Two other top candidates for first team All-American: guards Jerian Grant of Notre Dame and Delon Wright of Utah.

Bubble trouble

In no particular order, these teams had better finish strong to get the attention of the NCAA Tournament selection committee: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, UCLA, Illinois, Stanford, North Carolina State, Purdue, Miami, Iowa, LSU, Georgia and St. John’s.

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